A Comparison of Suboxone and Clonidine Treatment Outcomes in Opiate Detoxification

PurposeThis retrospective quality improvement study was to evaluate if Suboxone therapy reduced the risk of terminating treatment against medical advice compared with the use clonidine in men aged 18–-55 years.MethodsData were collected through chart review for all opioid-addicted male clients admitted voluntarily to a community-based treatment center between July 1, 2009, and December 30, 2009.FindingsThe chi-square test of independence between treatment completion and treatment noncompletion was found to be significant at the 5% critical level (P = .027) for Suboxone therapy.ConclusionsSuboxone treatment decreased premature termination of opioid detoxification completion when compared with clonidine.